A default is a way to automatically provide a value for a field. There are two types of defaults in Helix: a Keep Value field and a calculated default. A Keep Value field "carries over" the value that was displayed in that field in the previous record viewed. A calculated default is constructed by putting both a field icon and an Abacus icon into a Data rectangle on a Template. (A calculated default is sometimes referred to as a Calculation Retain because the calculation displayed is "retained" when the record containing the field is entered.)
Both types of default are overridden if data is typed into the field.
• Why did my calculated default stop working?
If you create a calculated default and then modify the Abacus involved, the Abacus may disappear from the Rectangle on the Template. You will then have to drag the Abacus into the Rectangle again. It is a good idea to check the Template any time that an Abacus used in a Calculation Retain field is modified.
NOTE: If you change an Abacus and hear a beep, check the Why? message. The message will provide the name of one Template that is affected. The number of beeps equals the number of affected Templates.
You are trying to use the current value of a field to calculate its own default value. Undefined [“Field”] becomes [0] is a circular calculation in this case, and will not work.
You have a default calculation (Calculation Retain) in a Relation that is the target of a Post. Defaults are form-based, whereas posting delivers values directly into the fields (bypassing all forms in the target Relation). Therefore, defaults have no effect (and will not be stored) at the target end of posting.
